Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, Sept. 30, 2023: “Slime You Out,” Drake feat. SZA

Auto-tune lives and leave it to Drake to make sure its death may never come. This pop-&-B ballad is everything everyone has come to expect from a Drake single. Let the guy sing. Land a high-profile feature for the middle section. Finish things up with some good, old-fashioned rapping. This time around, there isn’t much to it as the sparse, drum-dependent production leaves all the room both singers need to do what they do best, which is shine in the modern pop world.

SZA actually eclipses her counterpart here as her natural confidence feels more pointed than the Toronto star’s complaints about not knowing “what’s wrong with you girls.” Drake, who is coming off a massively successful tour that again earned him a profile higher than most any other male act in the hip-hop world, waffles between looking for sympathy (“You got my mind in a terrible place,” he croons at one point), and being downright spiteful (“Who the f--- even asked you?” he later asserts after working in a clever sequence that plays off a calendar’s months). SZA’s singing response is her latest example of a hot streak that actually might deserve more celebration than it’s receiving from popular culture (and that’s not to say it’s not receiving a lot of celebration as it is). “It’s cute that you lame,” she retorts in a faux waltz style that only makes the insult cut deeper than it should.

It adds up to one of the most anticipated collaborations pop music could receive right now and for the most part, it lives up to lofty expectations. The real-life history between the two makes the lines worth digging into more than a mere cursory listen, but while you might have to set forth with a shovel and an expanded line of attention to find the hidden pieces of gold, the treasure at the other end proves rich.